


The Nightshade Symbiote

by monarchofrymden



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Cannibalism, Cats, Gen, Mild Blood, Mild Transphobia, Other, Swearing, University, Witchcraft, artistic license: leeds city centre, artistic license: medical, really Alex's mum is the worst, shapeshifting demon cat, surveillance raven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-09-20 13:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17023746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monarchofrymden/pseuds/monarchofrymden
Summary: Alex is a student in his first year of university, studying medicine to become a doctor one day. On his way home one night, he encounters an alien symbiote from outer space. While things might not be perfect, they figure out that maybe, just maybe, their lives can benefit from being together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is not actually connected to Venom, as it is set in England. There may be small references though.

For all of the infamous Freshman’s Week, Alex had decided to take it easy. After moving the last of his stuff into his new flat - a spare room in the house of an elderly woman, who agreed upon a low rent in exchange for care and cooking - he turned on some music, sat back, and started work on a webcomic page. Surprisingly, his landlord Betsy started singing along from the other room.   
“You like Nine Inch Nails?” Alex’s voiced surprise was too high pitched, he coughed to clear his throat.   
Betsy giggled, peering into Alex’s room with her beedy blue eyes. “Ah, I used to listen to them years back. Saw them live a few times.”   
“You got to see them live? I’m jealous,” Alex gasped, “I wish I could afford tickets to their new tours.”   
Betsy then asked about what Alex was working on, leading to a 30 minute long ramble about a war on a fictional planet in Andromeda. For a while longer, Betsy stayed to watch him draw and to sing along. They had a bit of a karaoke, which was cut short by a small tuxedo cat jumping on Alex’s keyboard.   
“Victor! It’s a good thing this autosaves, you know.”   
They figured it was about time for tea anyway, so Alex made them up a nice cauliflower cheese. Dear old Betsy had a cosy house with a couple spare rooms, the other one occupied by a senior medical student that was now on a transfer year abroad. Currently it was just Alex and Betsy. Oh and the cat Victor.

For most of the university year, it was nice. Quiet, even. Alex managed to finish a chapter in his webcomic. He always took a break after finishing a chapter, so focused more on the cat.   
Victor. The cat. Try telling him he was meant to be a cat. The dumb lizard slouched over the kitchen counter.   
“Betsy can’t see you like this. Transfiguret in felis!”   
He hoped up from the counter and curled round Alex’s shoulders as he transformed into a tiger cub.   
“Very funny Victor. You know what I meant.”   
He yawned and became a small tuxedo cat again. Alex threw on a coat and scarf, before heading to the door.   
“Right Betsy, I’m heading to the lab! There’s some leftover lasagne from last night in the fridge if you want it.”   
“Alright Eddie, see you later,” Betsy called back, “stay safe.”   
“Edward is my middle name, Betsy. I will.” He exchanged a glance with Victor, who he could’ve sworn was grinning. He closed the door behind them.

“Alex, what time do you call this?”   
“It’s only 7:56. I’m four minutes early, I-”   
“I’m messing with you, Alex,” the man in the black lab coat laughed, “now come on in, we’ve got some equipment that needs cleaning.”   
“That’s great, Doctor Pearson,” Alex frowned as he set the cat down at the door.   
Working in the university labs was nice, if a bit cold in the Winter months. The heating off for the night before the staff arrived to clean things up. Seen as Alex was only in his first year, he didn’t get to do anything fancy, just making sure the aftermath of botched chemistry practicals didn’t linger. Scrubbing down the workbench had him thinking back to high school, when his physics teacher nearly blew up a classroom. None of her practical demonstrations ever went right. She had been funny, and so had her cats, and the bioluminescent fish she stole from her university so they wouldn’t just be killed. Dr Bartholomew Pearson rolled his eyes and sighed as Alex rambled on about times gone by. It was a long shift until midnight, but Alex needed the money from the work.   
“Bye Doctor Pearson,” he called back as he walked out the door. Victor jumped up onto his shoulder   
Dr Pearson waved him off. “Stay safe Alex. Remember, my lecture is at thirteen-hundred on Monday.”   
“I know, doctor.”   
As Alex turned to walk down an alley toward home, Dr Pearson went off to the car park.   
Alex’s poor choice in alleyway had no lights except a high window above, which shut off while Alex was only halfway down the alley. Behind him rattled something, he turned to see nothing. In the nothing opened up two bright green eyes, followed by some more. Victor hissed in alarm.   
“Back,” Alex breathed out, “get back.”   
Upon Alex the shadows descended, covering him, seeping through his clothes, his skin, into his muscles and bones. The shadow enveloped him, then it was gone. He stumbled, leaned against the wall. Victor snaked around him, looking for whatever that was. A dose of his inhaler, and Alex walked back the way of the lab.   
Keys in the ignition, Dr Pearson started up his car. Alex tapped the bonnet before coming round to the driver’s side and knocking on the window. He stepped back to let Dr Pearson open it.   
“Alex, did you forget something?”   
“No, no, something came over me in the alley. It was like this shadow but with a hundred green eyes and it wrapped round me and then I don’t know where it went and-”   
“Hey, Alex, it’s okay, breathe.”   
**_We’re right here, Alex._ **   
“Who the fuck just said that?” Alex looked around in a panic. “Oh god, I’ve been possessed haven’t I?”   
Victor growled as Dr Pearson got out the car. “I’m not going to pretend I understand your witchcraft-”   
“-I’m not a witch-”   
“-but Alex I doubt that you’ve been possessed. Come on, I’ll take you to one of the medical practice labs. We’ll see what this is.”

As the walked down the corridor, Alex leaned against the wall and started coughing. He wiped away a drop of blood and grimaced. Dr Pearson hurried him to a room as Alex mumbled. “Demonic possession wouldn’t do this…”   
**_We’re sorry, we’re hungry. We’ll fix it later._ **   
“Who the fuck keeps saying things?”   
“What are they saying?” Dr Pearson asked as he started turning devices on.   
“I don’t know, something about being sorry.” Another cough, another drop of blood. “What the fuck?”   
**_We’re hungry. Get us some food and we’ll fix it._ **   
“Whoa, what, are you eating me?”   
The hairs on Victor’s back stood on end and he growled. Dr Pearson ran a hand through his hair, muttered something about not being paid enough for this. Alex and the cat exchanged a look, and Victor jumped up onto the controls of the MRI machine, turned it on. Alex shrieked, unable to feel anything except the pain that enveloped him. Around his own face formed another, which struggled to keep it’s form.   
“ **Turn it off! Turn it off!** ”   
“Get out of my fucking head then!”   
Coughing, Alex dropped forward, and from his mouth spewed out a shadow. Once Victor was sure it was no longer in Alex, he turned the MRI back off. Alex slumped back against the wall, watching the shadow squirm and writhe on the floor.   
“What the fuck is that?” Dr Pearson exclaimed, gaping at the thing on the floor.   
The shadow twisted, moved in a circle, before lunging at the cat. In a last ditch attempt to avoid it, Victor transformed into a bat, but the shadow hit him in the chest and absorbed into him. Alex snarled and went over to the controls.   
“Get out of my familiar or I swear to god I’ll turn this back on.”   
The bat looped around the room as Victor struggled against the shadow. True to his word, Alex pressed the button and the MRI flared back to life. The bat dived at him, and he raised his arm in defence to shield his face. So the bat bit down into his arm with fangs far larger than a bat should have. As Alex tried to shake it off, screaming obscenities, Dr Pearson turned the MRI back off. He watched as the shadow left poor Victor and seeped back into Alex. Victor dropped and curled up, looking injured as he transformed back into a cat.   
“Victor, oh god, are you okay? Agh!” Alex tried to move his arm to reach for his cat. He looked and saw the two holes right through it, the blood spraying out, the faintness in his head. Over his arm flowed shadows.   
**_We’re sorry. We can fix it. We meant no harm._ **   
“Fix it? What the-” The shadows retreated into his skin, leaving behind no evidence of the bite other than the blood on the tiled floor and the tears in his jacket. “What are you?”   
Strands of shadow curled round in the air, protruding from Alex’s back; at their ends they merged, forming a fanged face with bright green shimmering eyes, which grinned at Alex.   
“ **We are Nightshade. We are sorry, but we needed food.** ”   
“Did you kill my fucking cat?”   
“ **No. We see he matters. We just need to eat, then we can fix you both. Please, get us some food.** ”


	2. Chapter 2

Arms wrapped round the resting cat, Alex sat in the back of Dr Pearson’s car.   
“Is it a demon?” he asked nervously.   
**_We’re not a demon._ **   
“Victor would’ve recognised a demon.”   
“Is it a ghost? Spectre? Phantom?”   
“I would’ve recognised them, doctor.”   
“Ask it what it is then.”   
From Alex’s back coiled the tendrils, and a face formed again.   
“ **We are Nightshade.** ”   
“Y-yeah, you said that.” It was difficult to focus on driving with that thing looming over like that. “But,  _ what _ are you?”   
“ **We are a symbiote, from th-** ”   
“A symbiote,” Alex interrupted, “like mitochondria?”   
“Endosymbiosis is only a theory, Alex.”   
“ **We’re far superior to some organelle of supposed bacterial origin.** ”   
“Okay, sorry, you can continue.”   
“ **As we were saying,** ” the two green splodges of eyes glared at Alex as they spoke, “ **We are from the planet Klyntar. Normally, we would be sent in groups to devour the life on a planet. It seems we have been abandoned here.** ”   
“We?” Dr Pearson pulled the car over and turned to face Nightshade. “As in there’s more of you, you things?”   
“ **No, just us here now.** ”   
“Are you using we as a singular?” Alex asked.   
“ **Yes we are.** ”   
Dr Pearson gulped. “So, uhh, what exactly do you eat?”   
“ **Human brains, and organs.** ” Alex gagged. “ **We specifically need the chemical phenylethylamine, which on this planet is most easily obtained through human organs.** ”   
“Alex why couldn’t it have been a demon?”   
“Don’t ask me.”   
“A demon would be easier to deal with.”   
“You know I don’t do exorcisms.”   
“ **What’s an exorcism?** ”   
“It’s this like ritual thing to get rid of ghosts or demons that are possessing someone.”   
“ **Are you going to exorcise us?** ”   
“I don’t think it works on symbiotes.”   
Alex gently stroked the cat, frowning. Outside the car they heard yelling, from an alley near where they parked. Nightshade seemed to bubble with excitement.   
“ **Food.** ”   
“W-what?”   
The shadow seeped over Alex’s skin, coating him until only Nightshade could be seen. A small muscular form made its way out of the car, a large toothed grin over its face.   
_ What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? _   
“Alex what are you doing?”   
“ **Don’t worry doctor, we’re just getting a meal.** ”   
“Stay in the car. Oh my god. Please get back in the car.”   
Nightshade slinked out down the alleyway, while Dr Pearson watched in horror. He couldn’t see a thing into the darkness.   
_ Whoa, Nightshade, you can’t just control my body like this. _ __   
**_We’re not going to get us hurt._ ** __   
_ Singular or plural? _ __   
**_Plural. We won’t hurt you. Your body is cozy._ ** __   
_ Thanks, I guess, but what are you doing? _ __   
**_Getting a meal, so we can heal you and the thing that pretends to be a cat._ ** __   
_ What sort of meal, Nightshade? _   
In the alleyway, there was a young woman struggling against a thug in a mask. The thug gripped a knife, was threatening her with it, and in a gruff voice said that he’d cut her open like a fish. Nightshade grinned, pounced, fangs sinking into the thug outside the woman’s view. She didn’t stay to question the thug’s sudden vanishing, just picked up her purse and ran, leaving Nightshade alone to feast.   
_ Oh god, you’re eating someone. _ __   
Nightshade licked the blood from his fangs. “ **That we are. Plural.** ”   
_ I think I’m gonna throw up. _ __   
**_We’re sorry if this is - how would you put it - gruesome._ **   
Nightshade swallowed his arms and legs whole.   
**_But we need the food, to live._ **   
Nightshade tore into his abdomen and ate the internal organs one by one, followed by the muscles and fat and bones.   
**_And to heal you._ **   
Nightshade bit into the head, the skull splintering between his teeth.   
**_And your fake cat._ **   
Nightshade swallowed the last of the thug, leaving behind his now bloody clothes, which Nightshade then kindly discarded in a nearby bin. Under Nightshade’s control, Alex’s legs took them back to the car, as the shadow seeped back under his skin. He got back in the car.   
“Drive.”   
“What just happened?”   
“Just drive, Bartholomew. Take me home.”   
“Wow, first name, okay then.” He started the car again and drove.

Half one, Betsy made a point of telling him. Half one when Alex got home, Victor still curled up in his arms. Alex made up some bullshit about Victor being attacked by a stray cat before going up to his room.   
“The lasagne was nice,” Betsy called up after him.   
Once in his room, Alex placed the cat down on the bed. A tendril stretched out from his arm.    
“What are you doing?”   
**_Fixing your fake cat._ **   
Around Victor wrapped the shadow, which lingered for a moment before withdrawing. Victor snarled and snapped at the leaving tendril.   
**_There. We’ve fixed him._ **   
“Don’t think this counts as an apology for eating people.”   
That face loomed over him again. “ **What makes you think that we’d apologise?** ”   
“Oh my god. What’s fucking wrong with you man? Fuck this I’m gonna sleep.”   
Alex slung his now ruined jacket to one side, his boots under the desk, his jeans over the back of the chair, his shirt in the wash basket. He carefully peeled off his binder and placed it folded on the chair.   
**_What’s that? Why are you wearing it?_ **   
“Long story,” he mumbled, curling up under his blankets. Victor turned off the light at the switch before curling up by Alex’s head. “Goodnight, Victor.”   
The cat meowed.   
“Goodnight, Nightshade.”   
**_Goodnight Alex._ **

Oh, was he glad it was Saturday. Alex woke with a groan to find Nightshade staring down at him. The symbiote seemed to sense his panic and tried to soothe him.   
“ **Betsy is still asleep, hush, she hasn’t seen us.** ”   
“What? No, I was hoping last night was a dream…”  _ It was more of a nightmare. _   
“ **We are Nightshade, not nightmare.** ”   
“What time is it?”   
“ **17 minutes past three.** ”   
“Fuck, in the morning?” Nightshade nodded with a grin, and Alex sighed. “Why did you wake me up at 3 am?”   
“ **We wanted to talk.** ”   
“About what?” Alex groaned as he stood up, slipping on his house coat.   
Nightshade sunk back under his skin as he walked across the landing to the bathroom.  **_We were looking through your memories._ **   
“Wow, invasion of privacy much.” He turned on the cold tap and glugged back some water.   
**_We are in symbiosis, what’s yours is ours, what’s ours is yours._ **   
“That sounds like a wedding vow.”   
**_What’s a wedding vow?_ **   
“Why don’t you just take a look, Mr Mind Reader.” Alex sighed as he looked in the mirror. His house coat was too small for him, too feminine. He sighed and went back to his room.   
**_That’s not a priority right now. Something’s wrong. We can fix it._ **   
Alex closed his bedroom door, slung the house coat over his headboard. “I don’t think you can fix asthma, Nightshade.”   
The tendrils wrapped around his wrists like bracelets, around his neck like a scarf.  **_That’s not what we meant. We got impatient, waiting for an answer, so we had a look for ourselves_ ** __   
_ Great, another person to explain being trans to.  _ “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”   
**_You don’t have to explain, we already looked through all the reasons in your head. All the chemicals._ **   
Alex curled back up in his bed. Victor grumbled in his sleep at the movement.   
**_We can fix it, if you want._ **   
“Fix it?”   
**_Make you who you’re meant to be._ **   
Alex smiled at the offer. It was better than the nothing he would get from the NHS after all, especially considering his severe allergy to general anaesthetic. However, there was something disconcerting about an alien symbiote changing the structure of his body.   
“I… I don’t know, Nightshade. I’ll have to think about it.”   
He could feel Nightshade settle beneath his skin.   
“Are you this kind to all your hosts?”   
**_No. You’re the first good host we’ve had. We’d like to make this last._ **   
“Thank you Nightshade.”

He awoke at 6, a habit he’d never been able to get out of from when he worked Saturdays in college. The pharmacy had been nice, and was right round the corner from his parents’ house back in Middleton, but with the cost of food, rent, and university, it was not somewhere he could have stayed. A reminiscent thought of all the laughs he had back there, the other staff members falling over backwards in an attempt to accommodate his transition. That’s what he got for keeping the same first name, he guessed. He was used to telling people that it was just Alex, that they could call him Lex if they wanted. Back at the pharmacy, his boss had started calling him Alexander. That’s when Alex jumped down the rabbit hole of letting people refer to him by his middle names. There were three to choose from: the pharmacy chose Edward. Another middle name was about to be used.   
“Danny,” came Betsy’s call, “we’re out of tea bags.”   
“Daniel is my middle name.” A well rehearsed line by now. “I’ll go get some now, don’t worry.”   
“We’re out of sugar too.”   
“On it.” Alex pulled on a pair of cargo pants, a baggy top, filled his pockets with his phone and inhaler and money and keys. He went to reach for his jacket, his favourite jacket, before he remembered the large tear in the arm and frowned. The skeleton pattern on the sleeve was ruined.    
**_We’re sorry._ ** Over Alex washed a feeling of regret that wasn’t his own.  **_We can replace it._ **   
His skin tingled as shadows wrapped around him, coating his chest in black. It took the form of a jumper at first, before adapting, changing, until it looked almost exactly like the now ruined jacket.   
“You can do this?”   
As if eyes were opening up on the ‘fabric’, green splodges formed in the shadow, which took shape as bones: the ulna, the radius, humerus, the scapula, the clavicle, the sternum, the rib cage, the spine, and the pelvis. Far more detailed and accurate than the jacket had ever been.   
Alex pulled up the hood - on which the skeletal arm appeared, ‘reaching’ for his head - and zipped up the jacket. Nightshade had some attention to detail. Even without his binder on, he felt as if his chest had never been flatter. It was perfect.   
**_Only the best for you, Alex._ **   
“Awe, thanks!” He was glad nobody could see him blush. “Let’s get the tea then.”   
Victor jumped up onto Alex’s shoulder and purred, acting a scarf as they went out.    
“I won’t be long Betsy!” The lock clicked shut behind him.

Despite the December cold, with Nightshade around him Alex felt snug, as if he hadn’t left the comfort of his blankets. Only Tesco was open so early, about a 10 minute walk, in which they encountered no one.  
“So,” Alex breathed into the silence, “what makes me so special? Why am I a good host?”  
 ** _There are… Multiple factors._**  
“Go on then, list some.”  
 ** _We see you have a keen attention to detail. You’re kind, considerate, and good to the heart._**  
“What gave you that idea?” Around his heart he could feel the shadows curl.  
 ** _We can see your memories, Alex. All the good things you’ve done._**  
“Like what?” Alex sighed. “When have I _ever_ done anything good?”  
 ** _You’re out at 6 am to get an elderly woman tea bags and sugar._** There was a pause as Nightshade searched. **_You get people gifts that would last instead of cheap chocolate. You help your friends out when they’re down, even though some of them you’ve never actually met. You look after people, put their needs above your own. You cared for your mother despite how much she-_**  
“Okay,” the word was sharp on his tongue, “you can stop listing things now.”  
Nightshade hummed. **_Your heart rate has accelerated. We will not mention her again._**  
“Yeah.”  
 ** _Sorry._**   
“Don’t dwell on it. Let’s just get this tea.”

Refusing to be left outside of Tesco, Victor transformed into a snake. He slithered up Alex’s - Nightshade’s - sleeve and stayed there as Alex walked the dead aisles of a 7 am Saturday supermarket. It only took about a minute or so to get the box of tea bags and a bag of sugar, along with some nettle and peppermint herbal tea for himself. Self service, by contactless, and he was out. Victor didn’t leave his sleeve.   
“You alright in there Victor?” Alex brought his wrist to his face and asked. A little snake head poked out the sleeve, Alex could’ve sworn the thing was grinning.   
**_What is Victor?_ **   
“You sure do like asking questions, Nightshade.”   
Nobody was around, so Nightshade’s face rose up from his shoulder. “ **What is he?** ”   
“He’s a shapeshifting demon.”   
“ **So why is he with you?** ”   
“It’s my task to look after him.” Victor slithered up his sleeve and coiled around his neck, where Alex gave him a scratch. “I get my powers in exchange for keeping him safe.”   
“ **Who are your powers from? Who are you protecting him from?** ”   
“I have yet to figure that out.”   
Nightshade’s head sunk back down and melded with the jacket.

“We’re home.”   
“Make us a cuppa, will you Luci?” Betsy called over the morning news on the TV.   
“Of course.” He made his way to the kitchen and filled the kettle with enough for two. “And Lucifer’s my middle name.”   
Uneventful was an understatement for the rest of the morning. He’d taken Betsy to the park on her suggestion, where she ended up yelling at a 10 year old for smashing up a bench. Other than that, nothing else happened.   
Nothing until the call.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mild transphobia / Alex's mum disregarding his gender identity  
> I know this chapter's a bit short but I'm back in college atm

Alex’s ringtone was Megalovania. Individual people didn’t have their own ringtones on Alex’s phone, they were all Megalovania. He hadn’t changed it in four years, apart from one contact. That contact was the only one set to default, to the ringtone that signified the worst. Alex couldn’t leave it unanswered, and Nightshade felt the tightening in his chest, the rapid beating of his heart, as Alex saw the name _Laura_ and answered the phone.   
“Hey mum,” he forced a smile, his voice quiet.   
_“Hey Lex,”_ the caller sounded cheery, _“how’s my favourite daughter doing?”_   
“You don’t have a daughter, mum.”   
_“Whatever, just tell me how you’re doing.”_   
Alex kept his replies short. “Better without you, mum.”   
_“Oh nonsense, I’m sure you miss me.”_   
“I don’t. Look, I’m a very busy man, mum-”   
_“No you’re not.”_ Alex didn’t know if that was to being busy or being a man. _“You’ll come round for Christmas, won’t you?”_   
“Probably not. I’m gonna hang up now, mum.”   
_“Whoa, wait, don’t you-”_   
Sighing, Alex slumped back in his chair and tossed his phone to the table. On his skin Nightshade stirred with unease.   
**_We don’t like her._ **   
“You and me both, Nightshade.”   
**_Can we eat her?_ **   
Alex genuinely took a moment to consider that. “No, she’s got no meat on her.”   
**_That’s a shame._ **   
“I know.”

That afternoon Alex and Betsy played some card games. He made pie for an early tea and Besty went to bed around 9, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts. And the demonic shapeshifter Victor, and the alien symbiote Nightshade.  
“ **We really do think you’re a great host, Alex,** ” said the head floating just next to Alex’s, attached by multiple tendrils.   
“Awe, thanks. You’re… The only symbiote I know, so I have no basis of comparison.”   
“ **We’d like to think we’re a good symbiote.** ”   
Alex took a moment to think. “Hey, uh, can I ask you something?”   
“ **Of course.** ”   
“Would you be able to, you know, use singular pronouns?” Alex bundled some clothes into the washing machine.   
“ **We are.** ”   
“No, I mean… Humans will always interpret _we_ as a plural, referring to two or more people.” A scoop of cheap Tesco washing up powder went into the machine drawer.   
“ **What do you humans use then?** ”   
“Humans use _I_ , the narcissists,” he chuckled as he poured in fabric softener and closed the draw. Finishing the setup and turning the wash on, he gave a quick explanation of singular and plural in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. “Want to try?”   
“ **I am… A symbiote.** ”   
“There you go!”   
“ **You are Alex.** ”   
He slouched back on the sofa, and the nearly floating head came round to face him.   
“ **We are together.** **_We_ ** **are Nightshade.** ”   
Alex found himself blushing. Curse his ability to become easily attached to those who were kind to him. The symbiote nudged him and he laughed.   
“So, so, what should I call you? I mean, if you singular aren’t Nightshade, then what’s your name?”   
“ **I’ve never had one.** ”   
“You’ve never had a name to yourself?” Alex glanced across the room. “I’ll have to give you one then.”   
“ **Give me a name?** ” Alex could’ve sworn those green eyes started glowing. “ **I’d be honoured.** ”   
His gaze settled on the record player in the corner of the room. Alex had only been able to afford one vinyl since getting it, which just so happened to be Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds. How fitting for a man living with an alien. As if in agreement, the symbiote searched Alex’s mind and started humming the first song he came across.   
“Nathaniel!” Alex cheered, taking hold of the nearly floating head. “Your name can be Nathaniel.”   
“ **You absolute nerd,** ” the symbiote grinned. There wasn’t an objection.   
“You were the one humming _The Spirit of Man_ .”   
Alex had to stop the newly named Nathaniel from singing it, reminding him that Betsy was trying to sleep. Speaking of sleep, Alex could use some of it. With Nathaniel wrapped happily around him like a scarf, humming along, Alex turned off the lights and went off to bed.   
“Goodnight Nathaniel.”   
“ **Sleep tight, Alex.** ”


	4. Chapter 4

Alex decided to sleep in Monday, having spend Sunday trying to teach Nathaniel more about human anatomy. Most of it was the symbiote snaking around his organs and asking **_What’s this? Is it important? Can I eat it?_**   
To most of this, the answer remained no. Alex genuinely considered just let him eat a certain, problematic, pointless organ. Maybe it was best to ask an actual medical professional the consequences of such before letting Nathaniel snack away on his uterus. It was probably a good thing they’d see Dr Pearson for his lecture at one…  
The lecture! Alex had completely forgot. It was already past noon, and it would take Alex over half an hour to get to the uni lecture halls on foot.  
 ** _We- I could help you get there faster._**  
He’d haphazardly laced up his boots and slung his backpack over one shoulder. “Yeah, please, just make sure nobody sees you.”  
Barely just presentable, Alex made his way out of the door, Victor tucked into his sleeve. Betsy had already left earlier, in favour of the bingo hall. Alex could only imagine what she would think of Nathaniel. Outside was misty, snow and fog coating most of the world, save the muddy streaks of sludge on the road. Through him Alex could feel Nightshade curling and slithering under his skin, and a black mass erupted from his back.  
“Whoa, what are you doing?”  
 ** _Ah, black is too visible. I’m sorry._**  
On the surface the mass rippled, turned white as the fog, formed a rather impressive set of wings. It would’ve looked quite angelic if they weren’t made by a carnivorous alien. How fitting for the time of year. With a couple beats and little warning, Nathaniel took them up into the skies. Alex had to bite back a scream.   
_Oh god, you’re flying? We’re flying! Nathaniel, what if we fall? What if I fall?_  
 ** _I won’t let you fall._**  
 _You better fucking not!_  
With half an hour to spare, Nathaniel landed them in a secluded alley just by the lecture hall. Nathaniel sunk back under his skin as Alex slumped back against the alleyway wall. His breathing shallow, sharp.  
“Let’s… Let’s never do that again… Please…”  
 ** _I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you._**  
He fumbled, searching his pockets, his bag. Realising he’d left his inhaler back home, he started to panic more. The symbiote enveloped his wrists and pinned them back against the wall, almost trapping Victor in the sleeve.  
“ **Hey, Alex,** ” he spoke soft as his head rose to face Alex, “ **it’s okay, I’m here. I can fix it.** ”  
Nathaniel nudged him gently. Alex’s arms were released and he hugged the goopy tendrils. _Heh, squishy._ His breathing started to return to normal. Victor slithered up out his jacket, and wrapped over his shoulders.  
“Transfiguret in felis.” The snake returned to the form of a cat. “Come on, let's go listen to this lecture.”

Nathaniel sat attentive through the whole thing, listening to the voice of Dr Bartholomew Pearson explain some biological processes. Sketching in the corner of a notebook, Alex was only giving the lecture half his attention. He was glad Nathaniel was, because it was the symbiote he was trying to draw. There was something about that face - those teeth - that he just couldn’t get right. He must admit, they were some pretty impressive teeth. The way they could peirce and lacerate and tear through flesh was morbidly fascinating. It was a shame Alex just couldn’t draw them right. Once they were home, he’d have to ask Nathaniel to come out so he could-   
“Alex?” Doctor Pearson cut off his thought by asking him a question, in front of the whole lecture hall of 40 odd people, on what he was just saying. Alex had not been listening to a single word. Thankfully, Nathaniel had been, and shared the answer through their bond. Sure, the words came out a bit muddled, but the doctor smiled and praised him.   
“Now folks, that’s a good student. Great work Alex.”   
He smiled to himself.  _ Yeah, good work Nathaniel. _   
**_That was_ ** **us** **_. That was Nightshade._ **   
Soon the lecture was over. Alex waited until the other students had left to go up to Dr Pearson, lest they overhear.   
“Could we talk to you for a sec?”   
“Do you have questions on the lecture?” He seemed surprised. “I thought you were pretty good today.”   
“Actually, that was Nathaniel.”   
“Nathaniel?”   
“Oh, the symbiote. His name isn’t Nightshade, that’s us… Together. His singular name is Nathaniel.”   
“Did they tell you tha- ah!”   
“ **Alex gave me the name. I’ve never had a name before.** ” Nathaniel popped his head out.   
“H-hello,” Dr Pearson stammered. He stepped back from them without breaking eye contact with the symbiote. “So, what’s up?”   
“ **We wanted to know what organs I could eat without damaging him. There’s a few useless ones in here, they serve no purpose for this form. We thought it would be better to ask you before I took a bite.** ”   
Horrified by the suggestion that the symbiote would eat any of Alex, the doctor took another step back, his face paled, mouth open wide in shock. Alex broke the tension with a laugh.   
“It’s not like I’m gonna be using my uterus, doc.”   
“Yeah, but… This is ethically questionable at best, and- and there isn’t anything exactly covering alien symbiotes.”   
“ **Will eating the organs cause Alex harm or not?** ”   
“Not them ones, no. But you would have to take over with the production of-”   
“ **Good. I would hate to hurt a perfect host.** ”   
“Doc, they’re not the right hormones, he’ll have to replace them anyway.”   
Trans people and intergalactic creatures were two things Dr Pearson knew little about. He returned his attention to the symbiote. “What exactly do you mean by perfect host?”   
“ **In previous hosts, the improper hosts, the host cells would attack me.** ”   
“You triggered an immune response in other hosts?” Now Alex was curious.   
“ **If that’s what you call it.** ” Nathaniel paused to find the right words in Alex’s head. “ **My cells were seen as a foreign threat by the host’s immune system. The lymphocytes attacked me and without thinking I fought back.** ”   
Dr Pearson scowled. “So you’ve killed people.”   
“ **It was self defence! After their attacks, I was weak. Alex has been the only host who’s immune system hasn’t attacked me. I can live here, heal here. He’s the perfect host.** ”   
“I can’t believe you found a murderous serial killer.”   
“He’s not murderous, just hungry.”   
“ **And humans taste nice.** ”   
“They have a taste for human flesh? My god, Alex-”   
“So? I’ve liked blood since I was a child.”   
Staring, Dr Pearson gaped at him. Nathaniel laughed.   
“Have you never had black pudding?” He sounded more shocked than the doctor.

_ I can’t believe he thinks you’re a killer.  _ Alex mused as he trudged through the snow toward Tesco. Weekly shop time, with money Betsy insisted on giving him for it. Betsy always made sure to fold his hand around that £20 note and say “Get something nice for yourself.”   
He put it towards the food. After all, he did like food. That was never what Betsy meant. If that physical money went to keeping them fed - Alex, Betsy, Victor, and now Nathaniel - then that was less money coming out of Alex’s bank account. It meant he could still pay for Spotify Premium. His thanks to his dad for letting him still use the family Netflix account was immeasurable. He couldn’t afford Netflix on his own.   
“Want to listen to something?” he asked Nathaniel, untangling his headphones as he walked.   
**_Your voice is nice to hear._ **   
Oblivious to social cues - despite Nathaniel somehow finding a way to use one - Alex just rolled his eyes. “I meant music, dummy.”   
**_Oh? Uh, yeah. Music. I knew that._ **   
He pushed in the earbuds and plugged the jack into his phone. A whole collection of albums was at his fingertips, and as he searched through to find something a paw reached from his sleeve and tapped the screen.    
“Good choice Victor.” He pressed play on the album Victor had chosen, Vessels by Starset. It was a beautiful album, and the band were amazing on stage too. Alex couldn’t help but smile.   
Most Starset songs were also about love across the stars, which is probably why that bastard cat chose it. Alex might not be able to pick up on Nathaniel’s developing social cues, but the couple tendrils stuck to the back of Victor’s neck meant that he could.    
Alex hummed along as Nathaniel focused on the lyrics. He tried to convey how he liked the song without talking over it, which ended up with him singing along in Alex’s head.   
**_Satellite, shine on me tonight~_ **   
Alex had to admit, Nathaniel’s singing voice was beautiful.   
**_I will be your gravity. I will stay and never leave~_ **   
The humor of that line wasn’t lost on the perfect host.   
**_My satellite. Are you here tonight? Shine your light and set me free. Take the darkness out of me. Shine on me~_ **   
“That was beautiful, Nathaniel,” he praised during the instrumental interlude between tracks.    
**_I like this music, Alex._ **   
“I’m glad you do.”   
Nathaniel could feel Victor grinning. He sent a message of thanks just to the fake cat, so Alex couldn’t hear. He found himself liking Victor, as he sung along to the album and they walked on toward Tesco.

Shopping paid for, Alex bundled the items into his backpack and made his way home. Nathaniel’s voice was soft as he followed the lyrics of Telepathic. Music was powerful, more so than any magic, and the symbiote could feel the words as they buzzed in the earbuds. It wasn’t long until the album was over, and Nathaniel begged that they listen to Starset’s other album. So they did. Alex hummed and Nathaniel sang all the way home.

Betsy thanked him for the spaghetti bolognese, and gave him the tenner she’d won during bingo as a gift. Alex didn’t want to take her winnings, but she insisted.   
**_She’s persistent. I like that._ **   
Once Betsy had gone off to bed, Nathaniel emerged and affectionately wrapped around Alex. He chuckled and gave the goopy mass a scratch.   
“Hey, Nathaniel, I got you something.”   
“ **You did?** ”   
“Yeah. You were too busy singing to notice earlier.” He went back to the fridge and retrieved a large joint of honey-glazed ham.   
“ **You really are the perfect host.** ”   
Before the symbiote moved to just eat it whole, Alex explained that it was wrapped in plastic which had to be removed, and tied with rope which also had to be removed. He floated patiently as Alex removed the indigestible packaging. In his excitement, Nathaniel very nearly took a chunk from Alex’s hand with the ham.    
“Are you happy then?”    
Joy flowed over Alex through their bond. The treat had been a good idea after all. That night as Alex slept, Nathaniel spent some time researching chemical structures, the components needed for them, how much of them was required and what not. Victor watched the symbiote, whose head was illuminated by the screen of the laptop. He hopped down from the counter and fetched the charger from the laptop bag. With more dexterity, Nathaniel plugged it in on Victor’s instruction.   
“ **You’re a good cat.** ”    
“Meow.”   
“ **You’re a better demon.** ”   
The cat nudged the tendrils, one latched onto him.   
_ And you’re a good symbiote. Please, don’t distract him from me. _   
“ **What exactly would I be distracting him from.** ”   
_ His patron has set him a task. That task is to help me heal. _   
“ **And who is this patron of Alex’s?** ”   
_ Aelurus. _   
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes, trying to read something  _ more _ from the demon Victor, to find who Aelurus was. Eventually he gave up and returned to his research. Victor curled up by Alex’s side.

**_He says your patron’s name is Aelurus._ **   
“What?” Alex was on his way to university, headphones in, listening to System of A Down. Nathaniel had been deathly silent when Needles was playing, but otherwise he rambled on about last night’s research. Talk of Alex’s patron was out of the blue. “Who told you?”   
**_Victor. We were talking last night._ **   
“Ah it’s nice to see my cat and my partner getting along.”   
**_Partner?_ **   
“Yeah, well, we’re together aren’t we? Like partners in crime.”   
For a moment, Nathaniel was silent, searching Alex’s head.  **_Or like boyfriends._ **   
Alex nearly choked. A few people gave him strange looks, which he was used to ignoring. “Boyfriends? Have you been talking to my cat about this too?”   
**_Not exactly, but it was implied._ **   
“Implied?”   
**_He said I shouldn’t be distracting you from your warlock stuff. That your focus is meant to be helping him heal._ **   
“And did you ask him about the patron?”   
**_He only said that their name is Aelurus. He wouldn’t let me see anything else._ **   
“That’s a shame.”   
**_I did notice something about him though. His immune system didn’t attack me, as it seems he lacks a conventional one._ **   
“He is a demon, Nathaniel.”   
**_Fair enough. I have a lot to learn._ **   
For the rest of the term, things were quiet. Nathaniel seemed intent on learning all there was to know about humans, patiently listening to the lectures and classes, even putting forward answers to questions so Alex could look smart. They really did work well together. They were Nightshade after all. Victor himself seemed more active too, walking alongside Alex instead of hiding in his sleeve. There were times when Alex would have to go someplace dangerous - the dreaded MRI rooms - so Nathaniel curled up in Victor and waited outside.   
At last, the winter holidays released them from this routine. He was planning out what to get for Christmas tea when Laura called again. This time he just let it ring out: Alex was done with her. It’s a shame none of them saw the raven, perched on the ledge of the window looking in. Bobbing around the room Nathaniel joked and laughed, Alex laughing with him before landing a kiss on the symbiote’s forehead. Nathaniel returned the gesture with an attempt at a kiss, but Alex slipped back and they ended up with Nathaniel’s fang through Alex’s lip. It was quick and easy to heal. That didn’t stop Nathaniel’s string of apologies, nor Victor’s protective growl.


	5. Chapter 5

_ A flutter of wings, a dropped feather. The raven perched on its branch in the open window and cawed. Around it, the conspiracy of ravens joined in, until a battered looking witch entered the room and they fell silent. _ __   
_ “What is it, dear?” She held her hand out to the raven that had just flown in. It hopped onto her wrist and cawed. “Tell me, what did you see? What is my dear daughter up to?” _ __   
_ “Your tea’s going cold here, hun.” _ __   
_ Caw. Caw.  _ _   
_ __ “Just cover it up and put it in the top oven. I’ll be done in a sec.”

Victor was uneasy all of Christmas day, stood at the door growling. Multiple times Alex tried to calm him - even Nathaniel when Betsy wasn’t looking - yet nothing seemed to quell his worry. Subconsciously, Victor knew the raven had been there, he had let himself be distracted. After the roast Alex put on, they sat in the garden, Victor on guard. There was a call. A raven. Victor pounced and tore into it in a cloud of smoke and feathers.   
Caw. Caw. There were three more. One by one they swooped down, clawing and pecking at the cat. From their seat Nightshade rose, throwing caution to the wind. A raven crunched in their teeth, smoke poured out from between them, causing the conspiracy to scatter. As Nathaniel sunk back under his skin, Alex scooped up the cat.   
Betsy stood at the back door, gaping. “What was that?”   
**_Shit._ **

How does he explain to his landlord that he met an alien in an alleyway and it needs to live in a host and eat people to survive? Pretty easily, as it turned out for Alex, Betsy in her years had seen a lot of crazy shit. How does he explain to her that his mother was sending ravens to attack him? A little more tricky that one, seen as he didn’t know much about it himself. He sighed and didn’t even bother getting undressed that night, just collapsing onto the bed. Nathaniel did him the favor of neatly folding up his clothes and tucking him under his many blankets. A mumbled thanks, a tired kiss. A final blanket of black wrapped around Alex, glowing green eyes opening up to keep watch of the room. Sat by their head, Victor purred. 

Boxing Day. The late morning sun was blocked out by the conspiracy.   
“Alex, we’re out of milk. I thought this bottle was full last night.”   
“Oh, it was.” He glared out the window to the ravens, Nathaniel rippling on his skin, taking the form of the jacket. Victor took his place in the sleeve, and a knife took its place tucked under the waist of his jeans. In a sheath, of course. Alex wasn’t an idiot.   
Ice meant each step had to be focused on. They didn’t have that luxury. At this time, the only place open was Tesco, a long walk away in this weather. Overhead the ravens watched on. Thankfully they couldn’t follow him into Tesco, but Alex had to go back home after. Milk and stuff for a couple meals to save going out again, paid for on card.   
_ Caw. Caw. You best withdraw. Caw. Caw. We still want more. _   
“Oh will you fuck off,” Alex grumbled. What was Laura thinking? It might be Boxing Day, but for the love of god it was daylight. Anyone could see the conspiracy of ravens in this unnatural behavior, mobbing a university student. He turned down a side street or two, trying to draw the ravens out of sight.    
**_Alex, what are you doing? Where are you going?_ **   
_ Trust me on this, Nathaniel. _   
Pat. Pat. Pat. He searched his pockets, taking a moment before his hand clasped around a vial.   
_ The wings, now- no wait. Make it look angelic, let’s freak them out. Now. _   
A moment to search for images of wings and Nathaniel sprouted out as two great sets of white wings, vaguely bird shaped. Alex threw down the vial and the ravens froze in place, some in mid-air, some just about to lunge at him. A beat of the wings and they were up in the air.   
**_Are you alright?_ **   
“I- I’m fine.” He kept his eyes shut.  _ That won’t last long. Just please get us home soon. _   
He could feel Nathaniel ooze over his skin, trapping poor Victor under the  _ skin _ of their arm, they were Nightshade again up in the sky. Alex carefully opened his eyes, only they weren’t really his own. For a moment everything was dark as his vision adjusted. Safely cocooned in his symbiote, Alex had to admit that the view from up here was beautiful.   
_ Hey, there’s Betsy’s.  _   
Nightshade glided down and dropped on the patio, the wings sinking back under their skin. The ravens went to follow, cawing with murderous intent. Such a noise drew Betsy out to view the commotion.    
“ **Get back in the house,** ” Nightshade yelled, before a raven got to close. Teeth clamped around a wing and the rest of the bird dissolved, smoke pouring out from their mouth. More of the conspiracy swarmed them, and to Alex’s relief Betsy did as told and locked the door too. As Nightshade clawed and snapped at the ravens, they dissolved into smoke and reformed perched on the fences and branches of the garden. One let out a high pitched scream and Nightshade faltered, Nathaniel sinking back under Alex’s skin in places. That raven, that bastard bird, cawed to the others, which stopped attacking one by one and started screaming. Only one raven kept silent. Alex covered his ears, trying to shield Nathaniel, but all he could do was fall as the screaming forced Nathaniel from him. The silent raven swooped down, snatched up the struggling black and green ooze, and the conspiracy took off.   
Betsy unlocked the door and rushed out, coming to Alex’s side. “Oh god, Alex. Are you okay?”   
“Nathaniel,” he managed to breathe out, dazed, “they took Nathaniel.”

Apparently, Betsy still had a driving licence and a car, and apparently she didn’t care about the speed limit on the motorway.   
“Thanks Betsy,” Alex mumbled from the back seat, Victor curled up in his lap.   
“I can’t have some witch thinking she can hurt you, now can I?”   
“That witch is my mother.”   
She turned and smiled. “All the more reason to hurt her back.”

Alex had to admit, it was pretty late when they pulled up on Alex’s childhood road. He told her to park a couple doors down and wait in the car, to be ready to start it again. With Victor in tow, Alex vaulted the side gate and sneaked down the garden to the shed. Through the window he could see all the ravens, cawing away to each other. In the center of the shed was a single perch on which the silent raven sat.   
The back door to the house creaked as it opened, and Alex scrambled to hide, Victor in his sleeve as a snake. He drew the knife from its sheath and watched. Up the garden walked the battered witch. She entered the shed and the ravens went silent.    
“What did you find, dear,” she whispered to the crows. Alex watched at the window as the silent raven coughed up a black and green oozing mass. The battered witch, Laura, scooped it up into a jam jar and closed the lid. “Thank you. I didn’t take Alex as the  _ strange ooze  _ familiar type, but she can’t be allowed to continue her misdeeds with it.”   
Alex exchanged a glance with Victor. Oh, of course, she’s got the wrong end of the stick. Again.   
Holding onto the jar, Laura walked back to the house. They’d have to get in somehow to get him back. Back over the gate, back in the car, Alex told Betsy the plan.   
“So you’re going to break in?”   
“No. Well, yeah. The stained glass is all broken round the door, and I can push the plasticard panel in to reach the lock.”   
“And then what?”   
“I find Nathaniel, we bond again. We get back in the car and you drive.”

After a few hours of waiting, Alex reckoned it was safe to go in. By now, they were all bound to be asleep. If they weren’t, Alex could judge them for still being awake at 2 am. He pushed the panel, opened the door, quietly shut it behind them. Thankfully, the dog sleeping at the bottom of the stairs didn’t stir. Alex looked round the kitchen, living room, front room, up the stairs in the bathroom, his old room, his brother’s, and his parents’. They were all asleep and there was no sign of the jar.   
“Where else could it be?” he mumbled, sat at the bottom of the stairs. Victor slithered from his sleeve and, taking the form of a cat, tried to move the dog blankets. Underneath was the panel in the floor Alex thought lead to a basement when they first moved in 12 years ago. He lifted it up and sighed. It definitely hadn’t been a basement when he’d moved out in August.   
“Here goes nothing,” he grinned, before making the descent.


	6. Chapter 6

Alex wasn’t going to lie, this looked a bit like a dungeon. An awful lot like a dungeon.    
“Is she getting interior design tips from Skyrim now,” he joked, running his finger across a dusty shelf of vials and bottles. Victor stayed at his heel, lips pulled back in a snarl. Eyes scanned the room, trying to find that jam jar, his phone flashlight illuminating all the shelves. The light caught a table, on which unlit candles surrounded the jam jar. Alex snatched it up and unscrewed the lid.   
“Oh Nathaniel,” he breathed a sigh of relief as he reached in, as the black ooze reached up his arm and seeped over his skin, took shape as a jacket with glowing green skeleton. Alex hugged himself and smiled.   
“So, that ooze isn’t your familiar?”   
They turned round, pointing the flashlight at the battered witch. Victor growled, stepping in front of Alex.   
“Nobody said he was.” Alex tried to keep his voice steady, staring dead ahead.   
“No matter,” Laura frowned, walking the perimeter of the room, “I still can’t let you continue what you’re up to with that thing.”   
Alex picked Victor up and stepped back away, circling round to the exit. “He’s not a thing, Laura.”   
“You don’t get to call me that, you’re my daughter.”   
“I’m your god **damn son!** ” Nightshade snarled, mouth full of teeth.   
Laura stumbled back against the table. “What is that? Alex?”   
“ **We are Nightshade, and we are a man.** ” Over the surface of their skin shifted green glowing spots. “ **Separate us again, and we won’t be as merciful.** ”   
They turned to climb the ladder out the basement, placing Victor up there first. With a flick of her wrist, Laura sent over a raven, which stabbed Victor in the neck just as Nightshade opened the front door. A tendril pierced through it, sending it away in smoke.   
“ **Victor,** ” they exclaimed, bundling the poor cat up in tendrils.   
“You’ll regret the day you crossed me, Alex.”   
“ **All I did was be myself you hag!** ”   
Behind them the door slammed and they ran. It took a moment to open Betsy’s car door with their clawed hand, and they jumped into the back. Panting, Alex cradled the cat as Nathaniel sunk under his skin.   
“Start the car.”

Once they were back on the motorway, empty for the night, Betsy turned to ask what had happened.   
“She attacked us on the way out.”   
Nathaniel’s tendrils tended to Victor’s wounds, snaked out from Alex’s palm. Through their bond, Alex could feel all the damage the raven had done, all the care Nathaniel was putting into repairing it. His hands absentmindedly fiddled with Victor’s fur.   
**_There’s something else wrong here._ **   
“What is it?” At that, Betsy turned round to Alex confused. “Sorry, talking to Nathaniel.”   
**_I haven’t noticed it before. I’m going to try and sort it._ **   
“Do your best, love.” The endearment just slipped out, and he could feel Nathaniel smile. He didn’t take it back.

Tendrils still clung onto Victor as the four of them got back home in the early hours of the morning. Betsy went up to her room, leaving Alex downstairs. After what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the little tuxedo cat to wake up again, Alex started to drift off.   
Victor woke up with a yowl and tumbled from his seat on Alex’s lap. As Nathaniel was still connected to both of them, Alex was pulled out of his sleep with the tendril ropes. A hand went out to catch him before he hit his head off the coffee table. Nathaniel’s hand, covering his own.   
“Thanks,” he mumbled. With a glance around the dark room, Alex established that it was still quite early in the morning. It took a moment to see, but he was also able to establish that the cat had disappeared, and in his place sprawled a young looking man with burning golden eyes, dressed in a somewhat damaged tuxedo and lopsided bow tie. He sat up with a gasp, hands reaching up to his face, fumbling around a forward pointing pair of horns, making a pair of pointed cat ears twitch.   
“Victor?” Ever the curious dumbass, Alex poked him in the shoulder. A hand batted him away - no, it was a paw now.   
The tuxedo man opened his mouth to speak, only to break into a coughing fit. He took hold of one of Nathaniel’s tendrils.   
_ Well don’t just sit there gawping, get me a glass of water. _   
With the tendril trailing between them, Alex hurried round to the kitchen and filled a glass with cold tap water. When he returned, the tuxedo man snatched it with his paws - no, they were hands again - and gulped it down within seconds.   
“ _ Now, that’s better, _ ” he sighed, voice still crackling like static. Alex and Nathaniel watched him with curious eyes. “ _ What? What is it? _ ”   
“Victor, is that you?”   
“ _ Oh dear Alex, I suppose you’re due an explanation. Sit, please. _ ” Alex perched on the sofa, and Nathaniel wrapped round him like a scarf. “ _ I am indeed you dearest familiar, the cat Victor. Oh, I’ve been stuck in that form for so long, Nathaniel I do thank you for healing me, freeing me, you have my gratitude. _ ”   
He brought up the tendril in his hand and kissed it gently, to which Alex felt the symbiote cling closer to him, a little too snug around his neck, but Alex didn’t mind.   
“So who are you in-” Alex gestured to the man. “-this form then?”   
“ _ You’ve been such a great service, Alex, it’s about time I thanked you in person for protecting that cat. I believe Nathaniel already told you my name. _ ”   
“Did he?”   
“ **You’re Aelurus?** ”   
“You? And you thought you’d wait until now to tell me?”   
“ _ I must apologise, Alex, for I did not think I would ever be free of that form. I was under the impression that my past injuries were too severe to take on this… Humanoid form ever again. Yet Nathaniel here, you saved me. You’ve freed me, you superb little alien. _ ”   
Aelurus stood up and twirled, holding the tendril as if he was dancing with it. That tendril was ready to catch him as he inevitably fell, to stop him hitting the coffee table.   
Swift, guided a bit by Nathaniel, Alex jumped up to help him. “My god, be careful.”   
“ _ You’re a warlock, _ ” Aelurus smiled, “ _ technically I am your god. _ ”   
“You’re not a god, you’re injured. Sit down, Aelurus.”   
Instead of doing as he was told, Aelurus shrunk down, back into the form of a cat, and nestled amongst the symbiotic scarf.   
_ I’m tired. Who knew being humanoid was so exhausting? _ Aelurus thought into the tendrils.   
“Pretty much every human ever,” Alex sighed. If the ravens saw this mess they’d tear the three of them to shreds. Why did his life have to be so complicated? He just wanted to be a doctor, yet there he was, shuffling up the stairs to his room, trying not to disturb his landlord with a demonic cat person and an alien symbiote. Nathaniel provided the word  **_neko_ ** into their shared thought pool, to which Aelurus complained about being compared to Alex’s ex-girlfriend's  _ slutty, slutty fursona _ .    
“Technically, they’re my characters, you know?” Alex corrected, “she gave me the rights to the Firestorms.”   
_ It was still her fursona, for fuck’s sake. _ __   
**_Is it really though?_ **   
Alex tossed his clothes over the chair in his room and flopped down on the bed. Nathaniel’s tendrils kindly pulled the blankets over him, and Aelurus curled up by his head.   
“Goodnight, you two.”   
__ It’s like 5 am, Alex.   
“Shut the fuck up and let me sleep, Victor,” he mumbled into his pillow.


End file.
